THE CAPO: EPISODE 2: Cobby Grant

”What do you mean you couldn’t bring her? Just one imp of a girl you couldn’t handle? Look at their faces like Kintampo bayere,” the Chairman fumed and ranted as the men stood dejectedly in front of him.

Not even when they told him that the girl had help did his anger dissipate.

”Listen,” he told them, ”Don’t come back here until you have accomplished the task. Look at their ugly faces like a flat tyre in motion.”

He reclined in his chair long after he had dismissed the men and thought about his next mode of action. He came to a decision and placed a call, giving succinct instructions to the man on the other side of the call.  It was only then that he was able to relax well enough to give orders for a large breakfast to be served.

***

Yoofi had a relatively good night’s rest and woke up very late in the morning.  He had for most of the night thought about the incident concerning the near abduction of that impudent girl who said her name was Rose.

He eventually got out of bed, and after an hour on the treadmill, and another thirty minutes of gruelling push-ups he shuffled into the bathroom and washed the sweat and the tiredness out of his bones.

Refreshed,  and wearing only boxing shorts, he went into the kitchenette to make breakfast that consisted of brown bread, weanimix and fried eggs with the sunny side up. He carried the prepared breakfast to the large living room, set it down on a table meant for that purpose and switched on the TV.  He had a leisurely meal but his mind was in overdrive,  as he thought about the dangers the lady could be dealing with. He didn’t want to make it his problem but felt he just couldn’t let it be. His conscience would not forgive him if anything were to happen to her. Those hoodlums could go back to finish the job. He needed to ensure that she was safe.

Casually,  he made a call to a police contact to ask for help in tracking the memorized registered number of their car. He also gave Rose’s car number for any information he could have as he needed to know who he was dealing with.

”Who knows, there could be a jealous boyfriend or even a husband involved here,” he said to himself and left for town to deal with some business ideas he had in mind.

He was very much aware that he was richer than the average young man and his wish was to be richer than the average old man even before he becomes an old man. To achieve that, he had formulated an ingenious plan to make his money rake in more money without being actually involved with the day-to-day drudgery of any merchandise he might deal in. He only wanted to import what others might need without seeing the goods. All he was interested in was watching his bank accounts swell.

Rose, meanwhile, went about her mission with a vengeance.  The article she was writing was momentarily set aside for later.

All she craved to know was who that Yoofi guy was.

First, she went to the media and publishing house she dealt with and made her way straight to the man she had in mind for help.

”Dan, can I play with your identikit pieces?” she asked and sat down to wait without waiting for a reply. Dan Tawiah, a former police officer and an artist smiled at her charmingly and reached for a package on top of the cupboard behind him and set it down in the middle of the table between them.

He asked her to describe the person she was looking for and made her describe the shape of his face, head, eyes, nose lips and chin.  She answered all to the best of her abilities as he made notations. Dan then arranged the pieces on the box and as if by magic, he was able to arrange the pieces in the box well enough to have a fairly good image of Yoofi, though a little bit different,  it was like a photo of him. She looked at the portrait on the table and had Dan print some copies of the picture for her.

”Do you know this man?” she asked without explaining why she had made him go to all that trouble for her sake.

”I’ll go through my data bank and get back to you by close of work,” he said knowing that she would tell him the reason at the right time.

Satisfied,  she found her way to the office of the Features Editor to discuss the submission of the article and the deadline.

Of the business plan Yoofi had in mind, one was to import medical equipment for the medical fraternity and he had in mind to see some medical practitioners to see what was highly needed.  They were going to tell him what they needed and he was to loan them the money for their purchase after agreements on the costs, with his profits in mind, of course, and the terms of payments.

With that in mind,  he went to a private hospital belonging to Dr. Ursula Baiden, his cousin to seek her take on it. He needed her cool and candid opinions which he knew he was going to get from her.

But the Ursula he found in her office was anything but cool. She seemed highly flustered and agitated.  His gentle probe revealed that a regular patient who had gone to see her concerning the pains in his rectum had had the audacity to grope her. He had squeezed her buttocks.  She was scandalized.

She had cut short the examination and sent him to wait in the waiting Hall meant for yet to be attended to patients. That was when Yoofi arrived.

”Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha. He’s handsome, you are beautiful.  Why not?” he said in amusement. He just couldn’t stop laughing.

”Yoofi Baiden, I must tell you that this is no laughing matter and I resent the fact that you think it’s funny enough for you to make fun of me,” she said flippantly,  angry at him.

He saw how angry she was with him and set out to get her to calm down. They were too close for anyone or anything to set them apart. She was his favourite person and had always had a good rapport with her. Their likeness for each other was mutual.

”Where’s he anyway?” he asked,  suddenly curious.

”He’s an idiot and I’ve asked the nurses to have a male doctor see him,” she responded and smiled at him. He smiled back at her.

 ”How’s the most eligible bachelor doing?” she asked, to get the conversation turned away from her.

”I am fine, my favourite cuz,” he replied, ”I am actually here in relation to what we discussed on phone.”

She got up without replying and picked up an attache case from a sofa from which she removed two sheets of paper and handed them to him.

These are diagnostic equipment very much sought after by lab technicians.  If you can get some to Ghana,  they’ll sell like hotcakes. Need I to say your profits are guaranteed,” she said quite business-like.

He perused the list thoughtfully. He set it aside and regarded her gravely.

”You know I don’t like handling goods physically,” he said.

”That shouldn’t be a problem. Just import them; with me as the consignee and leave the rest to me. I’ll take my usual cut, of course.”

”That goes without saying.  Deal?” he replied.

”Deal” she concurred.

”I’ll ensure you have the Bill of Laden as soon as I lay my hands on it,” he said and continued with a mischievous smile. ”I’ll make you so rich that no horny patient would dare lay a finger on you.”

She straightened up in her chair and threw a pencil at him.

He caught it and jestly pretended to be injured.

”Please doctor, can I touch you one more time?” he moaned dramatically.

She was thinking of a sarcastic reply when the door flung open and a well-dressed man walked in. He stopped midway in the room when he noticed Yoofi.

”Y. B. How are you?  It’s been a while,” he said,  surprised.

”Kofi Aboabo. Such a long time,” he said and went to embrace the man he had met at the university a long time ago. They first met when Kofi was the SRC president while he was a fresher trying to find his way around campus.

Ursula, momentarily forgotten,  looked on as the two men patted each other’s back repeatedly.

”Is Kofi your patient? ” Yoofi eventually asked when he realized how uncourteous they had behaved.

”He’s a patient of the hospital,” she replied woodenly.

”Doctor Ursula, your colleague has seen me and has prescribed some suppositories.  Thank you so much,” Kofi said as he looked at her uncertainly.

”I wish he had prescribed bullets,” she mused without them having any clue of her thoughts.

Suddenly,  Ursula pressed the bell alerting the nurse to usher in the next patient.

Yoofi, taking the cue, clamped his arm around Kofi’s shoulders and walked out with him but as soon as they were out of the room, he excused himself from Kofi and dashed back into the doctor’s office.

“Is he the one who touched your bum bum?” he asked,  whispering.

”Yoofi Baiden, leave me alone,” she said, almost screaming at him.

He laughed and once again exited the room.

SOME DAYS LATER

”I think I have gotten a match for our man. He’s a lawyer who has never plied his trade.” Dan said to her on the phone after sending Rose a photo and the full name of the lawyer on WhatsApp.

”I see. Thanks, Dan,” Rose said and ended the call.

She stared furiously at the lawyer’s photo, noting how dangerously handsome he looked.

”Yoofi Baiden,  whether you are a pocket lawyer or a real lawyer,  I don’t give a hoot. You just don’t get into my space uninvited and go scot-free,” she said acidly to the photo staring at her and abruptly switched off her phone as if she was confining him into total darkness.

Her enquiries revealed that he always found himself at The Stadium  Sports Bar, a pub that had an emo tuo joint, a bar, games corner where patrons played darts, Scrabble, chess and ludo. But the main attraction is the large 120-inch TV with its larger-than-life images.

Though she knew of its existence,  she had never been there before.  She went there that Sunday,  dressed in her signature jeans with a stylishly cut cotton shirt that stopped just short on her belly button.

As soon as she got she saw her quarry at the bar drinking from a glass with a pack of fruit drinks in front of him. He also had a plate of fried yam and pork at his elbow but his whole attention was on the football  match being shown live on TV.

He noticed her when she got to the bar to buy a drink. He sauntered over to her intending to invite her to join him at his table.

”We meet again,  Rose,” he said with his usual charm.

”I suppose so,” she said, trying hard to keep calm.

”What may I order for you? I have never seen you here before,” he said trying to make conversation.

”Yeah. Have never been here before,” she said noncommittally.

”Then permit me to pick the tab on anything you order,” he said as he admired her beauty.

”I can see that you have money to throw around and you even have enough to hire ruffians to fake an attack on me to get into my pants,” she snapped at him, suddenly angry with the smug look on his face.

”Me. Pay who?” he said, startled ”Hey, you don’t really believe that attack on you was my doing, right?”

She was about to give him a befitting retort when her drink arrived.

”Look lady, you must know for your own good that it wasn’t me that set you up. And that is not the kind of gratitude I was expecting given that I risked my life for you,” he said earnestly, quite at the end of his tether ”You must find the real culprits.”

She glared at him furiously and took a sip at the glass and frowned, squeezing her face in distaste because it wasn’t what she ordered

”Typical.  This drink, like you, Mr Yoofi Baiden is sour to the bone. Stay away from me before I make your life a living hell,” she said, and to the horror of the people who had begun to notice the exchanges going on between them, she poured the contents of the glass on him as he sat with a glazed look on his face.

She left and walked languidly to the bar, paid for her drink as the shocked barman looked on at her with his mouth wide open.

Unperturbed, she went out without looking back at the shell-shocked Yoofi who was so embarrassed that he didn’t realize he was licking the juices off his lips.

The next day, which was Monday, would ordinarily have been just another normal Monday morning but the sinister hands of the unjust weren’t going to allow that to be. Rose awoke late, had her bath and was in the process of preparing breakfast when she heard a very loud scream from the porch. Quickly,  she switched off the gas stove and rushed out only to be met with Pam her sister staring at something on the floor.

Her journalistic instincts came to the fore and she rushed back into the house, put on a pair of surgical gloves, picked up her phone and went out again to examine and take shots of the dead cobra. There was no visible sign or injury to give any indication of how it died. It was very large and very dead.  And there was a handwritten note attached to it.

It read ”this is your second warning.  Take the failed abduction as the first warning.  The next snake I send would not be a dead one. It would be alive and deadly.”